Following weeks of complaints from customers regarding issues with the HTC Thunderbolt 4G which Verizon refuses to directly address and acknowledge, Verizon has decided to quietly extend its complimentary hotspot access offer from its original end date of May 15 to June 15th on account of the late launch of the Droid Charge this past weekend and has included the HTC Thunderbolt 4G in the offering extension.
As previously reported, the HTC Thunderbolt 4G has been experiencing issues with its Mobile Hotspot functionality, with the issues traced back to HTC’s implementation of the Mobile Hotspot application on the Thunderbolt, as shared connectivity over Wi-Fi is known to drop out and stop working while on device data continues to function normally. The current solution to the issue requires rooting the device and installing the Wireless Tether application, which solves the Hotspot sharing issues.
Had Verizon not extended to complimentary Mobile Hotspot offering another month, those customers that continued to use it would have been in for a shock, as the current rates of 2GB/$20 could have been surpassed in a half hour on a good connection. Neither Verizon or HTC have responded to requests for comment regarding the hotspot issues.
Theres always sprint for those who still pay for hotspot. $30 and its unlimited. No 2gb nonsense cap. And for those of us who are willing to put the effort into rooting no need to worry,as the article says, we can just use wifi tether which by the way is awesome and I would not give it up for a newer phone that is still not rooted. My decision for upgrading is based on if the phone is rooted or not.
@JJ
Please share the following bits of info:
Device:
Palm Pro 850 (mine)
HTC EVO?
Monthly Data usage:
1.Your average (~3.5/4.5GB)
2.Your record (8GB)
Thank You
I’ve done a couple hundred gigabytes on 4G in a month, and I know people that have crossed the terabyte threshold. It’s not hard to do.
@ Chris
Is that usage on SPRINT’s 4G phone or MiFi?
Interesting, since I was told by a SPRINT Escalation Manager, that my usage on 3G as noted on the previous post, is much higher than the majority of the SPRINT consumers!
I tested my usage of some six hours of streaming music surfing News sites, came to half a GB, meaning that streaming one movie & a few hours of music per day, and simple surfing, not downloading a single file or playing any games, can be easily be in excess of 100GB per month.
6hrs of streaming Music and reading=>500MB
1-2hrs of watching International Newscast =>2.5-3GB
6hrs heavy surfing with no streaming Music or Mpeg => 120MB
So how am I according to SPRINT in a minority, if I only use 3-5GB on 3G billing cycle?
http://www.speedtest.net/result/1298849903.png
Thank You
If you download 200 GB on 3G, you will almost certainly get a call from Sprint. I don’t even know if it’s possible to do that, I haven’t run the numbers today (please do not follow with calculations of how much you can download on EVDO Rev A).
So yeah, it was on 4G.
The reason Sprint has a problem with high data usage on 3G is the lack of enhanced backhaul, and the breathing effect that occurs when many data devices pull spectrum from the tower.
@ Chris
It still does not answer my question:
How can 3-5GB in a thirty day period at this speed:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/1299124774.png
cause “a breathing effect”?
The FCC & U.S. Congress have eliminated most Analog products in the name of Digital progress, hence the initial interest in Free WiFi for all, thereby today,TV broadcasts on the Radio does no longer exist!
Why is that significant?
Simply put, due to the fact, that it is just a matter of time, when we experience our next major Catastrophe i.e earthquake and as a result, a complete Digital breakdown will follow, i.e no Cellular or Internet connection, and no one can even listen to a single PSA televised broadcast, that is when people will have major problems.
Today most people can still name a few TV stations, but fewer can name even one Radio News station, on the other hand the Telecom Industry conditions behavior by limiting access to streaming via Data limitations and yet charges fee after fee!
Today Telecom, is not a luxury it is a critical utility as any other.
Mass Media is an issue of National Security, thereby lack of access there of by the Masses is a National risque.
The fact that today, according to SPRINT, neither carrier in the U.S., can even upload Pictures, forget Mpegs, which were shot with any of the newer phones (higher Mega Pixels than say 1.3 or 2MB), in the so called era of HD, half way through 2011, even on 4G , is simply absurd to me.
My point is, “that you are only as strong as your weakest link”, how could the system handle millions of text messages in case of an National Emergency, if during regular times, it is so taxed, that it can not even send high resolution images or video ?
If 100 MB a day is too much for the system to absorb, it is fair to conclude that the Telcom Industry today, is not where it is supposed to be and hence it is oversold!
Thank You
@Chris
Perfect timing, here is some Empirical evidence in support of my above assesment, please note the included Histogram and quote:
“We’ll have to wait and see if these stats are waved in our faces to justify the next round of bandwidth caps or throttling,..”
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/17/study-finds-netflix-is-the-largest-source-of-internet-traffic-in/
Thank You
“Sprint now tied with Verizon for first in customer satisfaction”
Associated Press
http://sprintconnection.kansascity.com/?q=node/1785